Rail car front end construction



Sept. 23, 1941. E. J. w. RAGSDALE EIAL 2,256,494

RAIL CAR FRONT END CONSTRUCTION Filed A ril 15, 1936 7 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTORS EARLIW. QAGSDALQ Z7 ALBERT Cl- DEAN- 17 1 1 4 K y W ATTORNEY.

Sept. 23, 1941.

E. J. w. RAGSDALE ETAL RAIL CAR FRONT END CONSTRUCTION Filed April 15,1936 '7 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS EARLJWQAGSDALE Amy-am CIDEAN ATTORNEY.

Sept. 23, 1941.

E. J. W. RAGSDALE ET AL RAIL CAR FRONT END CONSTRUCTION Filed April 15,1936 '7 She e'hs-Shet 3 INVENTOR- EARLJW RAGSDALIE ALBERT (1 DEAN- IffWATTORNEY.

Sept. 23, 1941.

E. J. w, RAGSDALE ETAL RAIL CAR FRONT END CONSTRUCTION I '7 Sheets-Sheet4 v Filed April 15, 1936 I N V EN TORS EARL 1W RAGSDAILE.

ALBERT GDEAN v 9% ff/1A A TTORNEY.

I p 23,1941- E. J. w-. RAGSDALE ET'AL 2,256,494

RAIL CAR FRONT END CONSTRUCTXON Filed April '15, 1936 v 7 Sheets-Sheet sINVENTORS EARLJWRAQSDALE ATTORNEY.

P 3, 1- E. J. w. RAGSDALE ETAL 2,256,494

RAIL CAR FRONT END CONSTRUCTION A TTORNE Y.

E. J. w. RAGSDALE E-i- AL RAIL CAR FRONT END CONSTRUCTION Sept. 23,1941. 2,256,494

Filed April 15, 1956 7 Sheets-Shei '1 9 INVENTORS EARL JWDAMDALEALBERTCI -DEAH- ATTORN Y Patented Sept. 23, 1941 RAIL CAR FRONT ENDCONSTRUCTION Earl J. W. Ragsdale, Norristown, and Albert G. Dean,Narberth, Pa., assignors to Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Company,Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application April '15,1936, Serial No. 74,542

22 Claims.

This invention relates to rail cars and is more particularly concernedwith improvements in'a collision resisting front end construction forlight weight, high speed rail cars. It is a continuation in part ofcopending application Serial No.

720,490 filed April 13, 1934. 1

The development of high speed, relatively light weight rail cars, andespecially those forming parts of trains many of which are capable ofspeeds in excess of 100 miles per'hour, has involved new factors ofstrength and security to assure adequate protection of life andavoidance of delay on account of obstacles encountered on the right ofway. While the collision reaction of these trains is somewhat reduced inproportion to the weight reduction, it may be greater than in priortypes of trains at certain speeds as the energy of a moving mass variesas the second power of the speed. For this reason, as well as the factthat the operator is in th foremost part of the car or train, muchgreater atside and top walls formed to offer a minimum of resistance tothe air flow and in such manner that the danger of obstructions onthetrack reaching and becoming fouled with the truck or body is materiallyreduced 'overheretofore available constructions. a v

A further object of thisoinvention is to construct the front end wall ofa high speed light weight rail car tractor unit and connect it with thecar underframe forming th v combined underframe and bumper into aunitary structure,

chorage between the bases of th body posts and the underframe structureincluding a rela-' tively deep forward collision beam, a deep belt railinterbracing the posts and collision beam and tying into the side walltrusses, and by a deep transverse diaphragm structure interbracing thetops of the posts and collision beam and including a brace extendingfrom the collision beam to the side frame trusses, whereby shocks to thebody below the bumper are distributed to the main underframe and shocksabove the bumper are distributed into the side frames and thence intothe underframe.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved fabricatedpilot, including upwardly and rearwardly inclined angles which aresuitably covered to have low air resistance and ornamental appearancewhich is especially suitable in connection with the streamlin front ofthe rail car,unit body, such pilot being braced into the main part ofthe underframe for great rigidity and having a curved shapein horizontalsectionfor warding off obstacles.

Another and more specific object of the invention is to provide animproved, channel shaped anti-climbing device; approximately at theelevation of the .underframe bumper'portion and at the point of greatestlongitudinal strength to'normally prevent further elevation of articlesthe sides of the rail car unit.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing disclosure thereof when taken in connection with the drawingsattached hereto illustrating a preferred form of embodiment of theinvention and in which, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the front endof a tractor unit. v

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the tractor unit. Figure 3 is a partialside elevation of the front end construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Figure 4 is a plan view of a portion of an internal combustion enginebed and underframel Figure 5 is'a side elevation of the front end of thtractor unit showing the skeleton framework.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of th underframe of the front endconstruction showing the 50 manner of securing the body frame members.

sustaining characteristics, and to give the rail car a more attractiveand symmetrical appearanca,

A further object of the invention is to simplify and strengthen thefabrication of the framing constituting the front end wall by a strongah- 55 in'Fig. 7.

Figure '7 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional detail view throughthe base socket receiving the lower .end of the collision beam. I Figur8 is a section taken along the line 8-8 struck, such anti-climbingdevice including ltrans- I verse channels tending to throw off obstaclesto Figure 9 is a detail elevational view, parts being shown in section,showing a typical anchorage broken away to show the structure of thediaphragm braces bracing the center collision beam I and the side walltrusses.

Figures 14 and 15 are detail fragmentary sec-. 7

baggage space or, passenger accommodations as desired. 7 I

The'impr'oved collision resisting front end construction is of agenerally rounded shape in a horizontal plane with an upwardly andrearward- .ly inclined pitch from the tip of the pilot l2,

excepting only the anti-climbing channels H at the bumper portion, andincluding the body plates I5, the windows I6, and the air intake grillesll, to the roof.

, This .smooth surface to the side and upward 4 constitutingapproximately the foremost projectional views along the lines indicatedby the section lines Ill4 and 15-45 respectively of Fig.

13, as seen when looking in the direction of the v f v parallel bodyconstruction including side panels,

doors, etc., such side walls extending tothe top arrows. Figure 16 is aposts with the belt rail and the upper bracing diaphragm structure.

Figure 17 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken approximately'on theline I-'|- If|-'o F 6. 5/"

Figure 18 is a corresponding sectional view through the belt rail takenin'the region between the center collisiori post or beamand the nextadjoining post.

Figure 19" is a corresponding sectional view through the belt rail takenin the region ad;

jacent its joinder into the rectilinear side frame Fig. 18. Figure 21 isa bottom plan Figure 22 is a central vertical section through a part ofthe rail car unit including the bumper portion, pilot, and collisionbeam.

Figure 23 is a vertical section through a part v fragmentary perspectiveviewshowing the manner ofjoinder of the inclined sectionaf view of theunderframe in its forward portion and the pilot construction showing themanner of joining the pilotto the bumper portion and underframe.

- this blunt, short radius, rounded front has a low airfrictionre'sistance which is of great consequenceatthe high speed atwhich th rail car tion, is especially efiective in case of collisionsfor objects are warded off to the side and do.

not become fouled in the trucks. In addition,

is operated.

To the rear of the front end, there is the usual rail 39, and abovethe-rail the roofhas a generally curved shape aswill be seen from Fig.2.

A particular feature of this invention includes the provision of acombined power plant support and car underframe structure 20 as shown inFig. 4, such structure including a pair of longitudinal sills 2i formingthe principal longitudinal members of the underframe and serving as thedirect supports forthe power plant which,

I as. before stated, may be an internal combustion engine and generatoras indicated in dotted lines at 22; The underframe bolster 23 issubstantially in the longitudinal center of the underframe side frametrusses of the car body do not have 7 material power plant reactions andmaterial sav) of the bumper and pilot construction at the reen-' forcingrib.

Figure 24 is a horizontal section through the pilot construction at thepoint of connection of a brace thereto. v v Figure 25 is a verticalsection through the pilot underframe adjacent a point of connectionbetween a-brace and a reenforcing rib of the pilot. Figure 26 is avertical section at the end of the ings in weight arethus possible.

IT wardly to a transverse member 25 correspondparallel sides of thebody, showing the manner 1 of joining the skirt guard to the body, and,Figure 27 1's a horizontal section adjacent the connection of the pilotsupporting riband skirt.

In'accordance with one form of embodimentof my invention, the rail carl0 shown in Figs, 1,-2 and '3 preferably represents a self containedpower type having a lightweight construction conveniently made of thinsheet metal stock,

such as stainless steel of high tensile strength,

rolled or drawn into hollow section members of angular or channel crosssection and Joined together as by spot welding. While such'aconstruction is conveniently powered byan internal combustion type of'engine, the invention is not limited to such a power source.Furthermore,

the invention relates more particularly to the ing to an end sill. .Abumper portion 26 of generally rounded'shape is a unitary part of theunderframe and has the anti-climbing channels l4 hereinafter described.Large openings 21 in I the underframe facilitate welding and reduce the.55

weight thereof. The underframe is preferably of an arc-welded plateconstruction having the maximum strength with a minimum .weight, suchstructure being of .generally open cellular type for convenience inmaking the necessary welds,- and for permitting the desired transfer ofstresses to the remainder of the car body. Suitable toughness andstrength is possible by using-welded plates of chrome manganesesiliconsteel alloy. This unitary base or underframe affords a very rigidfront end construction and with the deep power plant supporting?beams'2l .as shown in Fig. 6, serves with the power plant, as anintegrated- .mass effective at thefront of .the bumperpor- Thesuperstructure of the car is built up of lightgauge sheet metal such ashigh-tensile stainless steel, formed into angles, channels andbox'sections and preferably spot-welded together to form side wall trussstructures including posts,

longitudinals and diagonals. Anchorage of'these light gauge sections inthe supporting base must therefore be such as to permit an evendistribution of stresses. For the foremost collision beam 34, atriangular raised portion 3| is formed on the bumper portion 26 of thebase 20, with its apex arranged forwardly and its base in engagementwith the forward ends of the engine supporting beams 2| of therelatively higher engine bed portion, and at the apex, forwardextensions of the side walls 33 form a longitudinally extending socket.The lower end of the longitudinally very deep box section collision beam34 (see Fig. 8) is anchored therein, the beam extending rearwardly andupwardly in accordance with the inclination of the front wall, andtapering from bottom to top.

The collision beam 34 is preferably a deep channel having its side wallsflanged and is constituted a. box section by welding a cap plate acrossthe side walls of the channel, as clearly appears in Figs. 5, 6, and 7.This main collision post or beam is securely anchored within the socketof the base by arc welding to the sides and back of the socket, theinclination of the back wall of which corresponds to the inclination ofthe back wall of the collision beam. A relatively thin gauge liner 35 towhich the side and bottom walls of the channel of the collision beam aresubsequently spot welded is clearly shown in Figs. 7 and 8. By thisconstruction, the triangular brace 3| of the base 20 directly backs upthe lower end of the collision beam against its being forced rearwardly,and prevents the shearing of the connection between the lower end of thecollision beam and the base by longitudinally acting collision forces.

At the belt line, as shown inlFig. 5, an arched belt rail indicatedgenerally by the numeral 36 is provided. This belt rail is made in twosections divided by the central collision beam and extends in eachinstance from an abutting and rigidly secured relation with the centralcollision beam at least as far as the first vertical post, indicated at31 of the side wall truss structure. This arched belt rail also variesin cross section from a maximum across section adjacent the centrallongitudinal plane of the car to a minimum at the point of its joinderwith the vertical posts and/or longitudinal beams of the side frametrusses.

Adjacent its top and above the window openings of the operatorscompartment, the central collision beam 34 is connected on oppositesides thereof into the side frames of the car by an arched top rail 38,the lateral portions of which tie into the top chord 39 and posts 31 ofthe side frame truss structure. This forms the outer chord of a trussedgenerally V-form diaphragm structure, as clearly appears from the topplan view of Fig. 13, tying the upper end of the collision beamdiagonally outwardly into the side wall truss structures.

then cut into the belt rail and the anchorages for the posts secured tothe base. After the posts have been dropped over the anchorages and intothe notches in the belt rail, they will be properly spaced and inaligned relation.

These posts 4|] and 4| are shown to beef two slightly different forms.The posts 40 are shown as relatively narrow deep channels flanged in ltheir edges and closed to form a box section by of a post between itsside walls, is are welded to the edges of the opening in the basethrough which it projects. In the case of the posts 4|, a short abutment43 only is welded in the opening formed in the base, as shown in Figs. 9and 10, and .the post 4| is telescoped over it and riveted thereto.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that not only the centralmain collision beam 34 but each and every one of the posts 40 and 4| inthe forward wall are strongly anchored to the base 20 in a manner whichoffers strong resistance against shearing of the connection between thelight gauge structures and the base by longitudinally acting collisionforces.

The detailed structure of the arched belt rail 36 and the manner of itsconnection to the posts including the collision beam is clearly shown inOn each side of the central beam 34, posts Figs. 16 to 20, and referenceis made to these figures in connection with the following description:As shown in Figs. 16, 17 and 18 it will be seen that the main body ofsaid rail is of generally outwardly presenting channel sectiondecreasing in depth from its point of connection to the centralcollision beam 34 laterally to its lateral connection to the side frametruss. In the view shown in Fig. 5 this rail terminates at the frontvertical post 3'! of the side frame which forms at the near side anemergency doorway opening, which opening is provided to permit readyexit from the drivers cab. On the opposite side 4 of the car, not shown,the arched belt rail 36 merges directly into the belt rail, as 44, ofthe side wall trussing.

For convenience of manufacture out of high tensile stainless steel, thechannel forming the main body of the rail is built up of a top plate 45(see Fig. 17) and a bottom plate 46, these plates being interconnectedalong their inner edges by a shallow channel 4'! telescoped therebetweenand spot welded thereto. A trim, strip 48 is finally applied to theinner face of the beam and secured in place .by screws indicated at inFig. 18, securing it to brackets 50 spot welded to the channel 41. Theouter margins of the plates 45 and 46 of the channel forming the .mainbody of the belt rail are secured through angles 5| and 52,respectively, to the lateral flanges 53 projecting from the outer wallsof the posts and central collision beam. These angles conform inangularity to the inclination of the outer faces of the posts and beamand are spot welded through one of their arms, respectively, to theplates 45 and 46 and through the other of their arms to the flanges 53of the posts. The upper angle 5| extends in a straight line from..

form a straight line seat for the window sash. The lower angle 52 hasits arm of curvilinear form conforming to the transverse curvature ofthe front wall and has its main body flush with the outer wall of theposts, the ends of which are welded tothe post being oflset, as clearlyappears in Fig. 17. The same is true of the ends of the arm of the angleII which are welded to the posts.

The main body of the belt rail is finally closed to form abox sectionstructure by an inwardly facing channel moulding 54 flanged in its edgesand secured through said flanges to the vertical- 1y extending arms ofthe angles 5i and 52 and to the post flanges 53. For convenience ofmanufacture, this channel 54 is preferably made in two parts 55 and 56overlapping and spot welded inthe line of overlap (see Fig. 18)

The construction of the belt rail, while still retaining its box sectionform, is somewhat modifledat the sides where it merges into the beltrail of the side wall trusses. Figure 19 illustrates one form which suchmodification may take. In this figure the moulding channel 55' is madein one piece since in this region there are no window openings requiringthe top flange to be on a straight line and the bottom one on a curvedline. Similarly, the top plate 45' is made integral with the anglethrough which it is connected to the posts. The inner wall of the boxsection is formed by an outwardly facing channel 51 which has its topside wall spot welded to top plate 45' and its bottom wall flangeddownwardly and secured through a downwardly facing channel 58 whichcloses the box section to the downwardly extending flange on themoulding channel 55'. The form of the belt rail in this region closelyconforms to the form of the belt rail in the side frame trusses and is,in effect, an extension thereof.

As shown in Fig. 18, the belt rail in the region of the collision beam34.is substantially of the full longitudinal depth of the beam and issecured thereto, in addition to the securement already described, by alaterally facing channel 59 having its bottom wall securely spot weldedto the side wall of the collision beam and its top and bottom side wallssecurely spot welded to the top plate 45 and the bottom plate 46,respectively.

An important feature of the invention is the bracing of the top. portionof the front wall'into the side wall truss structures. This is bestshown in Figs. 13, 14 and 15 and comprises a generally V-form trusseddiaphragm structure interconnecting the tops of the posts and bracingthe top of the collision beam 34 directly into the side wall trussstructure in the plane of the side wall top'rail 39, see Fig. 5. Themain elements of this bracing structurecomprise the diverging beams 6ifabricated, as shown in Figs. 13 and 15 of two channels secured back toback and extending from a point directly back of the central collisionbeam 34 laterally and outwardly to the side wall truss structures intowhich they are.

post to post and from post to collision beam to At the apex, the V-formbracing beams I are connected to the center post by a short box sectionbeam designated by numeral 64. As clearly shown in Figure 14 this beamcomprises a downwardly facing channel I of the width of the postabutting the rear face of the post and extending to the apex of the Vformed by the two V-arranged beams 8|. This channel is reinforced at itssides by laterally facing channels 98 and 01 having their bottom wallsspot welded to the side walls of the channel and also overlapping theside walls of the post 34 and spot welded thereto.

The horizontal reinforcing diaphragm structure further comprises struts9 extending between the tops of the posts 40 and 4| and the diagonalbraces 9|. As clearly shown in Fig. 14 these struts comprise-laterallyfacing channels 19 spot welded to the side walls of the posts 49 and 4!and secured through the gussets 12 to the braces of ii. The foremostside wall truss post 31 is also connected by a strut 69 to the adjacentbrace 6|. Additionally, the curved front top belt rail 38, the struts 69and the diagonal braces ii and the beam 64 directly connecting them withthe top of the center post are strongly interbraced by bottom plate 13,shown in Fig. 5, overlapping all of these members and secured thereto byspot welding.

A light gauge top cover plate 14, shown in Figs.

l4 and 15. is flnally applied to the tops of these struts 69, braces 6|and beam 64 to close the truss diaphragm structure and form a smooth topsurface over which the air may sweep into the engine compartment throughthe openings I! provided in the front part of the roof structure. Thistop plate is not essentialfor strength, but nevertheless adds someadditional strength to the diaphragm structure. It may be extended andpreferably is so extended to cover the opening shown in Fig. 13, betweenthe legs of the V formed by members SI and the tension member 63, thuscovering the entire top of the drivers compartment. In Fig. 5 this topplate 14 is shown formed with an upward bulge 14a to receive the top ofan auxiliary generator.

The curved front top rail designated generally by the numeral 38entering into .the diaphragm structure and tying together the tops ofthe posts, and forming, in effect, forward continuations of the top siderail 39 of the side trusses walls of the posts, the bottom walls beingoffset inwardly and secured to the lateral flanges 53: of the posts.These channel members are arranged in the plane of .the diaphragm trussstructure and secured through their top and bottom walls,

as shown in Fig. l5, to the top and bottom plates 14 and I3.

The posts 40 and 4| are additionally interconnected at this point byangle members 16 flanged in their edges, one edge flange of saidmembers'being spot welded to the bottom plate 13, and the other flangebeing extended downwardly and having its'ends arranged in theouterjplane of the posts, the extreme ends being oflfset inwardlyand'secured to the edge flanges 53 of the posts. This flange, designated"in Fig. 16,'is rectilinear and in the same plane as theupwardly'extending flange of the angle 5|,

shown in Fig. 1'7, forming a part of the lower belt rail structure andis adapted with it and the outer faces of the posts,; to form agenerally flat plane surface against which the window sashes may besecured.

The top rail 38 is finally completed by applying the inwardly facingflanged channel moulding I 18 with its lower flange overlapping theflanges I1 and the outer sides of the posts and secured thereto by spotwelding, and its upper flange overlapping the curved channels I5 and theouter sides of the post and secured thereto. Since the lower flange ofthis moulding, at the window openings, requires being extended in arectilinear line for securement to the rectilinear flanges 11 betweenthe posts, it is preferably fabricated in two pieces in a manner similarto the lower moulding channel 54 and for a like reason. In the showingof Fig. 15 it is shown at 38 as an integrally formed structure while inthe showing of Fig. 16, it is shown at 18 as a twopiece structure. ingin the location of Fig. 15, the reason for the two piece structure doesnot apply in that location.

Since there is no window open-' 26 at the front end sill portion, 25,the bolster 23 and the rear sill member 24. This plate is moreparticularly shown in Figs. 5, 6, and 26.

The body of the rail car tractor unit is thus secured to the underframethrough the direct anchorage of the front posts into the underframebumper and by the anchorage of the side posts to the transverse memberson the underframe.

Such a construction is especially rigid and capable of transferringcollision shocks intothe underframe, which, due to its support of thepower plant, has a great resistance to collision loads.

To further improve the streamlining characteristics of the improvedfront of the car, and as clearly shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3,. and in detailin Figs. 5 and 21 to 27 inclusive, a pilot device 12 extends theinclined curved front wall of the point in close adjacency to the rails,not more than a few inches thereabove. This pilot device provides asmooth paneling also curved in transrality of T-shaped rib members 82are welded to the top angle, the top of such members forming a smoothsurface to receive the curved plates 83 forming-the sheathing for thepilot. These T- shaped members 82 are joined at the bottom to a secondangle 84 which is also of generally arcuate shape, such bottom channelsupporting the sheathing plates at the bottom as is more particularlyshown in Figs. 22 and 23.

Certain of the upstanding members 82 are apertured as shown in Fig. 24to receive braces 85 which extend to brackets 86 at front end sillportion 25 of the underframe which is rearwardly spaced from the bumperportion 26 to the underframe and is approximately at the end of thelongitudinal power plant supporting sill members 2|. It isthus possibleto distribute shocks to the pilot longitudinally through the bumperportion 26 of the underframe as well as upwardly and rearwardly from thebottom of the pilot to' the strongest part of the underframe rearwardlyof'the bumper portion. I

The center brace 85 may be of a V-shape, as

will beseen in Fig. 21, the apex of which isat the center of thetransverse underframe member substantially at the line of junction withthe bumper portion. This brace may also be conveniently provided withintermediate vertical struts 8'! for the necessary verticalreinforcement, and if desired, transverse struts 88 as shown in Figs. 5and 21. A tensionrod 89 is also preferably placed between the loweredges of the pilot, such bracing constituting the pilotan extremelystrong structure directly tied into, the underframe. I

The braces 85 are preferably ofconsiderable length and therefore ofrelatively low angle of inclination with the horizontal so that thelikelihood of destruction of the pilot or possible'derailment isavoided.For this reasonthe pilot is so constructed that it will have aprogressive failure of parts with. a tendency to become entirelydefiected out of shape before it will break loose'from the underframeand thus, obstacles can be debody downwardly below the ,underframing toa.

verse horizontal section and adapted to take the asshown in Fig. 27. Therear end of the'skirt and thrown laterally of the trucks and body. To

more certainly throw such objects struck'by the pilot laterally ratherthan upwardly over the front of the car body, an anti climbingdevice l4encircles the front of the body at the height of the front of theunderframe immediately above the pilot.

The pilot is also preferably 'made of angular shaped members andincludes the top angle 8|. which is attached to the under portion of theun derframe bumper portion 26 as by suitablebolts fiected without dangerto the car body and without delay of the train. The rounded shape isespecially satisfactory in warding ofi many of the obstacles struckwithout impaling them on the front of the car. 'If desired, the entirepilot may be removed from the underframe by unloosening the respectivesecuring bolts.

In order to connect in the pilot with the side frame construction, aguard skirt is provided which includes angle members 9| as shown in Fig.21which are secured to the bumper portion of the underframe. 82 isprovided at the bottom as generally shown in Fig. 26, and the plate 93is secured to'these respective angle members." The plate 981s secured toa pilot rib'member 82 by flanged members '94 which engage opposite sidesof the'rib member plate 93 is readily secured to the sideframe panellingas'shown in Fig. 26, the .top portion of the gitu'dinal moulding asshown-at 95.

plate being secured for example to the lower lon- 'Ihe',anti-climbingportion of the front-jend construction, includes'a 1 plurality ofangular memberswhich-may be convenientlywelded to the forward projectionof the bumper portion 26 on the underframe. By placing the anglesback-toback, a rigid projecting element is provided with-theribs-inhorizontal'planes and thus 6 opposedj tov any tendency of struckarticles-to mov e up the frontgof'the car body. Together A secondreinforcing anglewith the rounded shape of the bumper portion, thesurface cooperates to throw of! any obstacles struck.

While a preferred form of embodiment of the invention has been shown, itis to be understood that modifications may be made thereto and a broadinterpretation of the invention within the scope and spirit of thedescription herein and of the claims appended hereinafter, is desired."

We claim: 1. A collision resisting front end construction for a lightweight rail car tractor unit having a power plant supportingunderframe,"said construction comprising a pilot, a bumper integral,

with the underframe, and a body, means to reinforce the body, and meansto reinforce said pilot; each of said reinforcing means being secured tosaid bumper whereby said bumper will resist substantially all endshocks, a vertical central section through said pilot, bumper, and carbody being a substantially straight line at a rear wardly inclined angleto the vertical.

2. A collision resisting front end construction for a lightweight railcar tractor unit having a power plant supporting underframe, saidconstruction comprising a pilot, a bumper integral with the underframe,and a body, means to reinforce the body, and means to reinforce saidpilot, each of said reinforcing means being secured to said bumperwhereby said bumper will resist substantially all end shocks, a verticalcentral section through the said pilot, bumper and car body being asubstantially straight-line upwardly and rearwardly inclined to avertical, said car body, bumper and pilot having a rounded frontsurface. 4

3. A collision resisting structure for rail car tractor units having acombined power plant support and underframe, said power plant sup portand underframe having longitudinally projecting power plant supportingsills and a spaced forwardly projecting integral bumper portion, anupwardly projecting relatively deep, collision beam extending above thebumper portion forming a part of the body framing, a pilot extendingbelow the bumper portion, and braces supporting the lower portion of"the pilot from portions of the underframe inwardly spaced from thebumper portion and adjacent the power plant supporting sills, saidpilot, bumper portion and body framing constituting a continuous surfaceframework for the foremost part of the tractor unit.

tractor units which comprises an integral power plant support having abumper portion, an up? ity of spaced posts on each side of said beam,and

4. A collision resisting structure for rail car I wardly and rearwardlyinclined and horizontally curved body portion above the underframe andincluding an upwardly projecting relatively deep collision beam anchoredto the bumper portion,

apilot mounted on and. belowthebumper por-' tion and of similar contourto the body portion,

braces supporting the pilot from portions of'the underframe inwardlyspaced from the bumper portion and means to hold spaced portions of thepilot structure from extending underimpact.

5. A front end structure for rail car tractor units having power plantsupports, a bumperintegrally secured to the power plant supports, an

' upwardly projecting relatively strong collision beam extending abovethe bumper portion,'a pilot extending below and secured to thebumperporinwardlyspaced, from the bumper portion,'said upwardly projectingbeam, bumper portion and pilot constituting a substantially continuousup wardly inclined collision structure.

6. A rail car tractor unit having a power plant support and underframestructure, a forwardly projecting integral bumper thereon, a pilotmounted on the bumper, means to brace said 7. In a rail car, side walltrusses of light weight construction and a front end wall also of lightweight construction and transversely rounded and rearwardly inclined tothe roof, a unitary engine base and bumper structure, means tying thelower portion of said front end wall strongly into said base, said frontwall comprising a central collision beam of substantial depth, andspaced lighter beams on each side thereof, all of said beams tying atthe top into a horizontal diaphragm formed by beams extending from thecentral collision beam to the side wall trusses at the end of the upperchords of said trusses and a pilot below the underframe.

8. Alight weight rail car construction comprising side frame trusses,and a transversely curved and upwardly and rearwardly inclined front endframing including spaced posts, an integral underframeconnected to thebottom portions of said side frame trusses and front end framing, a deeparched belt line beam tying together said posts of the front end framingand connecting the front end' framing into the side frame trusses, and adeep horizontally extending trussed beam tying the upper ends of theposts together and interbracing them and tying into the upper endportions of the side frame trusses.

9. Alight weight rail car construction comprising side wall trusses, atransversely curved and upwardly and rearwardly inclined front endframing including a collision beam and a plurala deep trussed beamstructure of substantially of the V-tying into the side walltrusses.

a 10. In a rail car, side wall trusses of light weight construction anda front end wall also of light weight construction and transverselyrounded and rearwardly inclined to the roof, a unitary engine base andbumper structure, means tying the lower portion of said front end wallstrongly into" said base, said front wall comprising a central collisionbeam of substantial depth, and spaced lighterbeams on each side thereof,

allof said beams tying at the top into a horizontal diaphragm formed bybeams extending from the central collision beamto the sidewall trussesat the "end of: the upper chords of said trusses. W

11. Alight weight rail car constructioncomprising side frame trusses,and a transversely curved and upwardly and rearwardly inclined front endframing includinga deep hollow section central collision beam and spacedhollow sectionposts on opposite'sides of said central beam, anunderframe into which said beam andposts are firmly anchored, and a deeparched belt line beam tying together said beam and posts, said belt linebeam generally corresponding in depth adjacent the collision beam to thedepth of said beam, and tapering in depth toward the ends away from saidbeam, which ends tie into the side frame trusses.

12. A light weight rail car construction comprising a transverselycurved and upwardly and rearwardly inclined front end framing includinga deep hollow section central collision beam and spaced hollow sectionlaterally spaced posts on opposite sides of said beam, an underframeinto which said beam and posts are firmly anchored, the belt line beingstrongly joined to the collision beam for substantially the depth ofsaid beam and being notched in its forward edge to receive the bodies ofthe lateral spaced posts within the body thereof.

13. A light weight rail car construction comprising side wall trusses, atransversely curved and upwardly and rearwardly inclined front endframing including a deep hollow section central collision beam, andspaced hollow section posts on opposite sides of said beam, a V-braceconnecting the top of the central collision beam into the side walltrusses, and a tension member interconnecting the side wall trusses atthe points of connection of said V-brace thereto.

14. A light weight rail car construction comprising side wall trusses, atransversely curved and upwardly and rearwardly inclined front endframing including a longitudinally deep central collision beam, aV-brace connecting the top of the central collision beam into the sidewall trusses, and a tension member interconnecting the side wall trussesat the pointsof connection of said V-brace thereto.

15. A light weight rail car construction comprising side wall trusses, atransversely curved and upwardly and rearwardly inclined front endframing including a longitudinally deep central collision beam andspaced posts on each side of said beam, a V-brace connecting the top ofthe central collision beam into the side wall trusses, an arched beam inthe plane of said V-brace interconnecting the top of the posts and beamand connecting also into the side wall trusses, and struts connectingthe tops of said posts and said V-brace.

16. A light weight rail car construction comprising side wall trusses, atransversely curved and upwardly and rearwardly inclined front endframing including a longitudinally deep central collision beam, andspaced posts on each side of said beam, a V-brace connecting the top ofthe central collision beam into the side wall trusses, an arched beam inthe plane of said V-brace interconnecting the tops of the posts and beamand connecting also into the side wall trusses, struts interconnectingthe top of said posts and V-brace, said struts, V-brace and arched beambeing further interconnected by a flat plate overlapping and secured toeach of said members.

17. A light weight rail car construction comprising side wall trusses, atransversely curved front end framing including a central collisionbeam, 9, V-brace connecting the top of said central collision beam intothe side wall trusses, and a tension member interconnecting the sidewall trusses at the points of connection of the V-brace thereto.

front end framing including a main upwardly extending central collisionbeam, and spaced posts on opposite sides of said main beam, a horizontalgenerally V-form bracing structure interconnecting the tops of the beamand posts and extending rearwardly and outwardly and tying into the sidewall trusses.

19. A light weight rail car construction comprising an underframetransversely rounded at its front end to form a bumper, a transverselycurved front end wall structure including a main central upwardlyextending collision beam and spaced posts laterally thereof all firmlyanchored adjacent the edge of said rounded bumper portion of theunderframe, and a longitudinally deep arched box section belt rail beaminterconnecting said collision beam and posts, with the posts extendingthrough the belt rail beam.

20. A rail car tractor unit having a front underframe and power plantsupport element, said element including raised power plant supportingbeams and having a forwardly projecting integral bumper portion, a pilotbelow said bumper portion and secured thereto, said pilot being ofskeleton truss construction and having a covering plate, said platebeing of generally rounded contour and upwardly and rearwardly inclinedto the line of contact with the bumper portion and braces extending fromthe lower portion of said pilot, rearwardly and upwardly at acomparatively small angle to the horizontal, such braces engaging withthe underframe at a point adjacent the power plant supporting beamswhereby shocks to the pilot are transmitted to the bumper portionthrough the top of the pilot and to the main body of the underframethrough the bottom of the pilot.

21. In a railway vehicle body, a power plant support and underframestructure located at the front end of the body and a pilot deviceextending below and directly supported from the front end of saidstructure, said pilot device including a plurality of downwardly andforwardly extending angle members, and a plurality of substantiallyhorizontal angle members secured to said downwardly and forwardlyextending members, a plate supported by and covering the respectiveangle members, and vertically and horizontally reenforced bracesextending from the downwardly and forwardly inclined members to thepower plant support and underframe structure, said pilot device having alesser strength than the underframe structure whereby it will deflectfrom a normal position without destroying the underframe structure.

22. A rail car having an underframe adapted to be supported from trucks,a body above the underframe and apilot below the underframe,

18. A light weight rail car construction comthe end of said car havingcollision resisting and distributing elements including a relativelydeep upwardly extending beam anchored to the underframe and tied intothe roof and sides of the car body, supplementary beams upwardlyextending from and anchored to said underframe, means to tie all of saidbeams together at a point adjacent the commencement of the roof, saidpilot including upwardly extending beams anchored to said underframe,means to tie all of said pilot beams together and sheathing coveringsaid body beams and pilot beams giving a substantially smooth surface tothe end of the car.

EARL J W. RAGSDALE. ALBERT G. DEAN.

